SKU: PR.114419290

ISBN 9781491135235. UPC: 680160676118. 9 x 12 inches.

Supported by a major commissioning award from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, my Chinese Folk Dance Suite is written for violin solo and orchestra, and premiered by The Women's Philharmonic with violin soloist Terrie Baune, conducted by Apo Hsu, on March 10, 2001, at Yerba Buena Center For the Arts Theater in San Francisco. Inspired by various Chinese traditional folk dances, I've composed three movements in the suite: 1) Lion Dance. Traditionally, people dance with richly decorated hand made lions, accompanied by percussion ensemble, to celebrate happy occasions and major festivals throughout the country. In the composition, I use Chinese drum and other percussion instruments in the background, to form a dynamic and rhythmic texture responding to the solo part, which imitates the tunes played on the suona (traditional Chinese trumpet). The pitch materials came from traditional Guangdong Music tune and Chaozhou Music tune ; 2) YangKo. Originated in northern China, it's a major folk dance form in mass performance popularized in the country. In YangKo performance, people always play rhythmic patterns on the drums hung around their waists while singing and dancing. In my second movement, I have imagined a warm scene of YangKo dancing in distance. The solo violin plays a sweet and gracious melodic line while all members in the orchestra sing the non-pitch syllables in different layers as the soft background, to imitate the percussion sound which produces the ever going pulse. 3) Muqam. It is a large scale traditional music and dance form from Uygur nationality in Xinjiang province, originated in the 15th century. In my third movement, I keep the meter of seven eight and the melodic style of Muqam music. The fiery dancing gesture cumulates the sustained climax section at the end of the work, after a colorful violin cadenza in both improvisational singing style and polyphonic writing with woven lines. Scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in Bb, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns in F, 2 trumpets in Bb, 3 trombones, percussion 1 (3 congas, low tom-tom, temple block, paddle castanets), percussion 2 (snare drum, 6 small Beijing opera gong, 12 big Beijing opera gong, crotales, tambourine), percussion 3 (suspended cymbal, a pair of 6 Chinese cymbals, bass drum), solo violin, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos and double basses. Duration is about 16 minutes. The work is recorded on Bis [CD-1352] and released in 2003, performed by Cho-Liang Lin and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, cond. by Lan Shui. Reduction for B-flat soprano saxophone and piano by Wong Tak Chiu (2017) and edited by Chen Yi (2018) The second movement YangKo is premiered by Dr. Wong and Korak Lerpibulchai at the Singapore Saxophone Symposium on 8/13/2017. The American premiere of the saxophone and piano reduction version of Chinese Folk Dance Suite is given by Chi Him Chik and Hao Yin at the Society for American Music National Conference in Kansas City, MO on 3/2/2018.

SKU: HL.51481453

UPC: 196288191933. 9.25x12.25x0.283 inches.

This extraordinary edition includes a selection of ten piano works by Chinese composers from the second half of the 20th century. They are marked by Western influences while also reflecting the multifaceted folk music of China. They range from short character pieces to sonatinas, from simple song arrangements to multi-movement cycles. These works are of medium difficulty and offer a representative cross-section of a musical cosmos that remains largely unknown in Europe. Predominantly pentatonic in character, these works unite the magic of Far Eastern music with the sound of the piano. We were able to get the well-known pianist Jingxian (“Jane”) Xie from Shanghai to select these compositions, which she herself regularly performs in the concert hall. She not only provided the fingerings, but has also written a preface that offers a general overview of modern Chinese piano music and introductions to each of the individual pieces. CONTENTS: Wei Qu: Flower Drum Pei-Xun Chen: Thunder during a Drought Li-San Wang: Sonatina Hu-Wei Huang: Pictures from Bashu Yi-Qiang Sun: Threshing Dance Wang-Hua Chu: The Moon Reflected in the Erquan Spring Jian-Zhon wang: A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix Jian-Zhong Wang: Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon Ying-Hai Li: Adieux at Yangguan Li-San Wang: The Sound of the Waves.

About Henle Urtext

What I can expect from Henle Urtext editions:

• error-free, reliable musical texts based on meticulous musicological research - fingerings and bowings by famous artists and pedagogues
• preface in 3 languages with information on the genesis and history of the work 
• Critical Commentary in 1 – 3 languages with a description and evaluation of the sources and explaining all source discrepancies and editorial decisions 
• most beautiful music engraving 
• page-turns, fold-out pages, and cues where you need them 
• excellent print quality and binding 
• largest Urtext catalogue world-wide 
• longest Urtext experience (founded 1948 exclusively for Urtext editions)